What Are Friends For?
by little nell
Summary: *CHAPTER 5 UP NOW* Ken/Youji - now they've filnally made it in! Woo!... Shounen Ai so far. Rating will change later...*hint, hint*
1. Ice Cream Dreams...

Okay, so this idea came to me last night. It was from a conversation I was having with my friend, who wanted to go out for ice cream too. This is for you, Manny ^_^  
  
Author: Little Nell  
  
E-mail: pyromanicalpikachu@hotmail.com  
  
Part: 1/? - do people want me to go on?  
  
Summary: Ken stumbles in on Youji's late-night cravings...  
  
Warnings: None. Slight Shonen ai if you're looking for it. I would say slight Youji+Ken.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Weiss. You'll get nothing if you sue. So there.  
  
  
  
What are friends for? - PART 1 - Ice cream dreams  
  
It was late. Very late. So late in fact, that it was early in the morning. And Ken was just beginning to get annoyed because for four hours now, he had been trying to sleep, but to no avail. "Stupid missions," he muttered to himself, "always messing up my sleep patterns."  
  
Feeling not in the least bit tired, he decided to make his way downstairs. There was bound to be something on the TV, right? Perhaps something boring enough would help him drift off. What was that channel Aya always watched?  
  
Suddenly, Ken paused in the doorway to the kitchen, hearing a noise. Someone was going through their fridge! Oh, the horror! He was all but ready to pounce on the vile intruder, righteous anger and all, when a blond head popped up from behind the open door.  
  
Ken let out a sigh, adrenaline dissipating. Youji.  
  
"Hey Kenken," he drawled. The fridge light made his smirk seem all the more...freaky. Ken hesitated slightly.  
  
"Hey Youji. What're you doing up?"  
  
"I could ask you the same thing." Youji countered. He was in the mood for teasing, it seemed. Which Ken wasn't. He got enough of it during the day, so why the hell should he have to put up with it at night?! Ken quickly made the decision to make his excuses as quickly as possible. He'd say he came down for a glass of water. That was realistic, right?  
  
"Couldn't sleep."  
  
"Dreaming about me, Kenken?"  
  
Ken rolled his eyes. 'Here we go,' he thought.  
  
"Yeah, I was dreaming about me, too."  
  
Ken snorted. "So I guess that's why you're looking through the fridge, then. Because you couldn't sleep?"  
  
Youji smiled sheepishly, "I was hungry, and - " he then mumbled something under his breath which Ken couldn't quite make out.  
  
"What this? The great eloquent Kudou Youji at a loss for words? I'm shocked." Ken responded dryly. Getting no response, he asked again, "Speak up, I can't hear you."  
  
"I said I wanted some ice cream. Is that some kind of crime?"  
  
Ken blinked, "No," he answered slowly "Not that I can think of." Ice cream? What the hell? It was far more like his blond team mate to be searching for pretty girls or cigarettes or porn, but ice cream? Ken had to admit he was curious.  
  
It was Youji's turn to roll his eyes as he returned to his search through the fridge.  
  
"Anyway, isn't it a little," Ken glanced at the clock, "early in the morning for ice cream?"  
  
Youji ignored the comment, sounding frustrated. "Where is the damn stuff?"  
  
"Uh, I think Aya did the groceries this week. You know what he's like. If you want anything apart from the bare necessities, then you hafta go get it yourself."  
  
Youji looked crestfallen. "You mean there's no ice cream? Figures." he slammed the fridge door and flopped himself down into one of the stools, lighting a cigarette.  
  
"You're not supposed to smoke in here, Youji. You - "  
  
Youji waved a hand, dismissing the comment, "Yeah, yeah. I know damn well 'what Aya's like'. Do I look like I care?" Youji slouched over in his seat, cupping his head in his hands. The cigarette illuminated his face...eerily.  
  
"Uh, no." There was a slight pause between the two, where Ken had the slight feeling he'd missed something. "So, what's the big deal with ice cream, anyways? Can't you find anything else to satisfy yourself?"  
  
Youji leered, "You offering?"  
  
Ken flushed, picking up the innuendo, "No! Uh, I mean - " 'Damn Youji!' he thought. 'Always teasing me and making me look like an idiot!'  
  
Youji stood suddenly, looking determined, "I'm going out for ice cream. You wanna come?"  
  
Ken's embarrassment was forgotten. Youji must be sick, to let an opportunity to tease Ken drop like that. "You're going out for ice cream? At this hour?"  
  
"Yep."  
  
"Where the hell from?" Wow, Youji really had lost it, if he was willing to go out at two in the morning for a little ice cream craving.  
  
"What do you mean 'where from'? There's stores all over the place that are open all night, Kenken. Where's your sense of adventure?" Youji made for the door, Ken following.  
  
"You're going out like that? Youji, you don't even have any shoes on."  
  
"Yeah, so? They make your feet so - " Youji struggled for a word.  
  
"Dry?"  
  
"Yea - what?!" Obviously not what he had been expecting.  
  
"I said dry. It's raining out, you know."  
  
Youji seemed to consider this for a moment before continuing, "So what? A little rain never hurt anybody before."  
  
An opportunistic clap of thunder chose that moment to strike, once again illuminating Youji's features eerily. Ken swallowed.  
  
The moment passed. "So," he continued "you coming, or what?"  
  
Ken rubbed his temples slightly, still trying to comprehend what was going on. Maybe he was a little more tired than he thought. "So let me get this straight. You," he said, pointing to Youji, "want to go out,"  
  
Youji nodded  
  
"At two in the morning,"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"In the pouring rain,"  
  
"Yeah,"  
  
"For, ice cream?"  
  
Youji rolled his eyes impatiently.  
  
"And you want me," Ken said, gesturing to himself, "to come with you?"  
  
"Exactly!"  
  
Ken thought about this for a moment, rubbing his eyes again, and tapping his feet on the tile flooring. Should he go? With this man who teased him incessantly and told dirty jokes and who he was constantly covering shifts for. This man who had the best and the worst reputation in all of Tokyo, and who teased him. And did he forget to mention the teasing? Ken shrugged, his decision made.  
  
"Okay."  
  
Youji looked shocked. "Okay?"  
  
"Sure, why not." Ken moved towards the door, now pulling Youji with him. "After all, what are friends for, right?"  
  
After pulling on a pair of boots, Youji put a hand in Ken's shoulder and smiled a genuine smile, "Thanks Ken."  
  
Ken returned the smile, his voice small, "Anytime Youji."  
  
Another clap of thunder broke the gaze of the pair, and Ken opened the door leading onto the streets, "After you." he gestured with his hands.  
  
"Why thank you, kind sir." Youji fluttered his eyelashes like a pretty girl and Ken pushed him out the door.  
  
And so, the two friends walked together in the rain, talking of everything and nothing all at once, on their way to the store. And Youji smiled to himself and to this boy by his side who had, out of the kindness of his heart, chosen to accompany Youji on his midnight ice cream craving. And he thought to himself, 'Indeed. What are friends for?'  
  
~fin~  
  
I'm not really sure where this is going, or if I should continue or not. Do people want me to? Do they have any ideas? Just review to say so, okay? Thanks, all you wonderful munchkins. 


	2. At The Store...

Thanks for everyone who reviewed. You obviously have supreme intellect. So here's the next part. These parts will be coming out as quickly as I can allow them because alas, I have exams at the moment, which I _should_ be studying for…ah-hem…

What are friends for? - Part 2

The clerk nodded moodily in greeting as Youji and Ken entered the store, but did a double take as she realised they were both soaking wet. And more to the point, what the hell were two guys doing in a store at two in the morning? She scowled and went back to reading her magazine. 

By now, Ken was a little more than pissed, not to mention freezing, "Aw, crap! I can't believe I let you talk me into coming here, Youji."

Youji squeezed his hair out and replied with mock indignancy, "You wound me, Ken. You mean to tell me that you didn't come here with me out of the goodness of your heart?"

Ken scoffed, rainwater dripping from his nose, "No, no. I'd just call it a temporary lapse in sanity."

"You get that a lot, don't you?"

"Asshole."

Youji punched Ken on the shoulder lightly, "Shut up."

Matching Youji's immature mood he retorted, "Oooh, good comeback," and made a face.

Before Youji could respond, the salesgirl slapped her magazine down on the counter shouting, "If you aren't going to buy anything, then leave!" 

They stared at each other for a few minutes, Ken's eyes wide, and the clerk glaring at the pair of them from under the brim of her uniform cap.

Youji turned and led Ken away by the arm to the freezer compartments. "You know Ken, we should bring Aya here sometime."

"What? Why?" Ken didn't think Aya would appreciate ice cream at two in the morning as much as Youji seemed too. Ahh, he could almost feel the katana blade against his throat now.

"Because," replied Youji, who was now sniggering, "I think they'd go well together, know what I mean?" he poked Ken in the stomach causing him to jerk away slightly. 

Ken's gaze made its way back to the sales clerk, with her glaring eyes and her scowl. He laughed out loud at the mental picture of the two of them going on a date. She glared some more in their direction. Ken couldn't deny it. There _was_ an odd resemblance between the two, with the glaring and the shouting and all.

"I bet Aya's so cheap he wouldn't even pay for their date." Youji's smart-ass comments and the glaring salesgirl added to the stupidity of the whole situation, but somehow, Ken couldn't stop himself from laughing along with his team mate. His stomach _hurt_. He really must have been tired, to be laughing along with Youji. For once, he was glad the teasing wasn't aimed at _him_; poor, naive, reliable Kenken.

"So," Ken asked, wiping tears from his eyes, "what kind of ice cream do you want?"

"I don't know. Why don't you pick?"

_Youji_ was asking _him_ to pick? Well, this was a date for the history books, boys and girls. Youji was, after all, the ultimate master in self-gratification.

"Uh, no really, it's okay. Anyway, it was _you_ who wanted to come out here at this ungodly hour of the night for ice cream in the first place. _You_ pick."

Youji shrugged, "Suit yourself."

He then proceeded to open all the freezer compartments and poke all the ice cream cartons, seeming to take forever to pick one. Who knew Youji would be so _anal_ over choosing an ice cream flavour.

For Ken, the coldness was starting to set in, "Youjiiiii, would you hurry up! I'm freezing!"

"All in good time," Youji proceeded to pat Ken on the head, which infuriated him even further.

"So, what flavour are you gonna get?"

Youji slid shut the door of the freezer and turned to sit on it, leaning back on his hands. He let out a smoky sigh. Where _had_ that cigarette come from? Youji turned his head to Ken's slowly, taking another drag, and stared directly into the shivering boy's eyes. He smirked.

"I think I'll take chocolate flavour." he declared at last.

Ken sighed exasperatedly, "Well shit, Youji. Talk about unoriginal. And it took you all that time to choose that?"

"Ken, we've been here ten minutes."

Oh.

"Well, I've chosen now. You're saved. Give me some money, will you?"

Ken blinked.

"Shit! You *did* remember to bring money, right Ken?"

"Wha-?"

"Keeeeeen!"

"Hey! Don't try and blame this on me, Kudou! This was your idea in the first place!"

Youji waved a hand at Ken's spluttering, "All right! Quit your whining. We're just going to have to do the smart thing and think our way out of this one."

It didn't take long for Ken to realise that he didn't like the look on Youji's face one bit...

TBC…

Review, ne? Thanks a bunch peoples. Peace.


	3. The plan...

What Are Friends For – Part 3

"Are you out of your mind? No way! Never!" 

"Simmer down, will you Ken? Do you want her to hear you?" Youji whispered frantically, gesturing to the salesgirl.

"Is that all you're worried about? You idiot, Youji! I can't _believe_ you would even suggest such a thing!" 

"Aw, c'mon, Kenken…" Youji wheedled, trying to coax an irate Ken to go along with his plan. "It really isn't that hard." he reasoned.

Ken sputtered indignantly. "That's not the point!"

"Look," said Youji, who was beginning to get impatient, "all you have to do, is take the ice cream, and slowly make your way out the door with it. No problem! Right?" he was having a tougher time than he thought trying to get Ken to participate in this little scheme of his.

"But...but what are you gonna do?"

Youji rubbed his hands together, "Create a diversion."

"Doing what, exactly? It _is_ two in the morning, you know. And we're the only ones in here. Don't you think she's gonna suspect something?" Ken's whispering was becoming more high-pitched and frantic.

"I..." Youji declared, "am going to turn on my charm for the lucky lady." 

A broad grin settled itself on Youji's face and Ken scoffed.

"Look Ken. Don't you want ice cream?"

Ken's gaze lingered on the tub of ice cream he was holding. Chocolate flavoured. Mmmmm. With chocolate chips. Mega Double Chocolate Chip Ice Cream, manufactured especially for assassins with strange midnight cravings. Wow! Suddenly, that sounded unbelievably good to Ken's stomach. He hesitated, "Yeah, I guess."

"And don't you think my plan is the best way to get it?" Youji crooned sweetly, taking advantage of the doubting in Ken's voice.

"No…" 

"Come _on_ Ken! It's a perfectly good plan. Don't be such a sissy!" Youji had a feeling he wasn't getting anywhere.

"It's stealing and it's wrong and I'm _not_ doing it! It was _your_ idea, so you do it!" Ken whispered frantically, glaring at Youji, he really _didn't_ want to go with the plan. If Aya were here, he most definitely would _not_ approve.

That was fine then. Time for his last resort. Youji really hadn't wanted to bring it up, but Ken was being a stubborn baby. And appealing to Ken's guilty conscience was so wonderfully easy, "That's fine, really Kenken. Deny me of the one simple pleasure I have left in life," Ken rolled his eyes as Youji's hand gripped his heart dramatically, "but you know, compared to what we do for our night job, this is nothing. Think about that, hmmmm?" 

By now, Youji had sidled up to Ken and had an arm round is shoulders, whispering in Ken's ear. "And the sooner you do this, the sooner we can get home," Youji smirked,  "and the sooner you can get out of those wet clothes..."

Youji's breath washed over his ear almost pleasantly, and Ken opened his mouth to say something back but he didn't know _what_ to say to that. So instead he broke away from Youji, rubbing his ear with his hand.

Youji made big saucer eyes at him and Ken cursed him for spending too much time with Omi. "Please Ken? For me?"

Ken sighed, beaten, "Okay," Youji grinned, "but only because I'm freezing my ass off in here and I want to go home." he insisted.

"Sure, Kenken."

Ken shook his head as he pretended to continue looking through the store. Youji made his way to the cash register, and more importantly, the salesgirl. What an idiot, ken thought to himself. Going to so much trouble, and for what? Ice cream? He still maintained that Youji had lost it.

Ken started to make his way towards the door, his heart beating frantically in his chest. What was he so worried about, anyway? Youji was right. They killed people. On a regular basis. So why was he scared of stealing a little ice cream? Maybe Youji was right. Maybe he really was a big, whiny sissy.

His thoughts were interrupted by the floor making solid contact with his face. In his usual, clumsy fashion, Ken had managed to slip over in a puddle of rain water. Once again, he cursed Youji. He should be in bed by now!

_**...and the sooner you can get out of those wet clothes...**_

What!? Why was he thinking of that now!? The fall must have scrambled his brains. Yeah, that was it.

"You okay, Ken?" Everything was okay, that was just Youji's voice coming from the front of the store. The idiot. Why wasn't _he_ the one stealing the ice cream? Probably didn't want to get caught.

Ken ungracefully got to his feet, trying not to slip again. He winced as his left wrist protested slightly. "Uh, yeah. I'm just gonna go wait outside for you and...uh..."

"Have a cigarette?" Youji filled in helpfully. He looked apologetically at the salesgirl, who was just as stoic as ever. She seemed to be trying to burn a hole through her magazine just by looking at it. She probably wanted to get rid of Youji, Ken thought to himself.

"Yeah, um, to have a cigarette. Hurry up, okay?" Have a cigarette? What was Youji thinking? Ken did _not_ smoke. He reasoned with himself. Before tonight, he had never stolen ice cream, either.

"Sure." and with that, Ken turned from Youji and walked out of the store, ice cream in hand.

It was another five minutes before Youji emerged from the store. "Did you get it?"

"Christ, Youji! Yeah, I got it. Now can we get the fuck out of here? I've been standing here waiting, you know."

"Is that my fault?" Youji protested, "She couldn't get enough of me. I can't help it."

Ken scoffed, "Yeah, well, I got your ice cream. You happy now?"

Youji took the carton that was thrust into his hands, "Delighted."

"Next time you want to steal something, you can do it yourself."

"Oh, so it's like that, is it? What was I _supposed_ to do, Ken? Let _you_ flirt with her?" A moment of silence passed before Ken realised he was being insulted. Again.

"Hey!"

Youji waved a hand at Ken, who handed him the tub of ice cream, "Yeah, yeah. But let's face it, who's the lady-killer here? You, or me?" Youji gestured to the ice cream in the younger man's hands, "It was for the good of ice cream." Ken did not look impressed, "Anyway, it doesn't matter. All that matters is that we have ice cream, and we didn't have to pay for it." Youji beamed.

Ken smiled inwardly at the 'we' part, momentarily forgetting the light-hearted insults, "You never did tell me why you wanted that ice cream so much, you know."

Youji brushed his wet hair out of his eyes, now that they were in the rain again, "Because," he started, giving Ken a sidelong glance, "I was in the mood for something sweet and delicious."

"But why ice cream?"

Remembering Ken's earlier comment, and his embarrassment at it, he replied smirking, "Because it was the only thing that would satisfy me."

Before Ken could reply, he tripped over one of his wet shoelaces. But Youji, well tuned into Ken's clumsy ways, managed to catch his arm and haul him back up again before he could make more contact with the ground.

"Thanks." Ken whispered, heart fluttering in his chest.

Youji's fingers lingered on Ken's arm for a moment. He marvelled at how the skin still radiated warmth even in this weather. Their gazes locked, and neither one seemed able to look away. For the first time, Ken noticed a sort of longing sadness in Youji's eyes, making his heart go out to the older assassin.

As if to remind the pair that it was still there, the rain began to come down harder than before, punctuated by a low roll of thunder. Youji looked away reluctantly, and removed his fingers from Ken's arm. Ken felt a slight pang of disappointment, but shook it off.

"We'd better go." Youji said. His voice seemed quieter than before. Not sarcastic. Not suggestive. Not _Youji_.

The rest of the journey home was made in silence, with Youji humming softly under his breath. Ken sighed happily. This was nice. Walking in the rain, just having stolen a carton of Mega Double Chocolate Chip Ice Cream. Ahhhh, he could hardly wait.

They finally made it back to the side door of the flower shop, and Youji waited patiently in front of it. Ken was confused, "Well? What're you waiting for?"

"For you to unlock the door."

Ken blanched, no sound coming from his mouth.

"Ken," Youji warned weakly.

"Uh, I didn't...I...you..."

"You didn't bring any keys, did you?"

"You didn't either!" wailed Ken in self-defence. "And besides! This was _your_ idea! What're we going to do now?! We'll be stuck out here all night!" Ken was practically heartbroken. The ice cream they'd worked so hard to get together would surely be ruined in the rain. Stupid door.

Youji clamped a hand over Ken's mouth, "Shhhhhh! Do you want to wake the whole neighbourhood up? Or worse, _Aya_?"

"But maybe if we shout loud enough, he'll wake up and let us in."

"I doubt that." Youji responded dryly, "He's such a bastard, I bet he'd leave us out here to freeze and soak all night. Then he'd make us work the morning shift." Ken resigned himself to the fact that Youji was probably right. "But don't worry, Kenken! You're lucky enough to be locked outside with an expert thief!"

"Oh. Great." A thief!? What the hell good was that? Youji wanted to steal more stuff?!

"Which means," Youji coaxed, "that I can get us back inside."

"Really?" Ken didn't want to sound too hopeful, not after this evenings shenanigans.

"No problem."

TBC....

Parts after this are going to be coming slower, mostly because I have exams starting soon. Tomorrow, it's my Judaism exam. Yay. Wish me luck everyone, and don't forget to review. It will help me do much better on my exams....


	4. Oh crap....

Part 4

Youji pulled several discarded pieces of wire from a dumpster in the alley beside the Koneko.

"These should do fine." he declared.

"You sure about this, Youji? I mean, wouldn't it be better to, uh, just stay out here?" Ken didn't want to admit that he feared the wrath of Aya, and more importantly, the wrath of Aya's sword.

"Are you nuts? Boy, a minute ago you couldn't wait to get inside."

"Yeah, uh..."

"Just leave it to me, Kenken. We'll be inside in no time."

Ken nodded, leaning back against the wall, not really caring that he was getting his clothes wet. Not that they could get much wetter. He raked his hair back with the hand not holding the precious ice cream, and sighed. His gaze wandered back over to Youji, who was crouched in front of the door with an intense look of concentration on his face. Suddenly, Ken heard something besides the thumping tempo of the rain. Youji peppered the night with his mutterings about 'damn keyholes', but it wasn't that. It sounded suspiciously like...a squeak.

Ken froze.

His eyes went wide suddenly, and his gaze inched its way down to the dirty ground of the alley. Ken was met with tiny, black beady eyes, matted fur stained with God knows what and whiskers, twitching in a snide, crooked grin. It was just as he had feared. A rat.

Ken's heart leapt into his chest and he recoiled from this vile creature, grinning up at him. It looked positively....evil, like it was scheming against poor, defenceless Ken. If necessary, the ice cream would have to be sacrificed in order to rid the world of this pestilence. Woah! Hold on. The ice cream? What was he thinking?! No, it was Youji who would have to be sacrificed. This was, after all, his fault.

"Hey Ken, could you pass me that piece of glass?"

"......" Utter terror prevented the younger boy from speaking. If he did, then he was sure the rat would get him. It would probably go for the throat, Ken thought to himself. To do the most damage.

"Ken?"

The rat, unwisely, chose that moment to cock its head at Ken, and it looked at him questioningly. 'Yeah, _Kenken_. What are you gonna do about it?' asked the rat. That was _almost_ as bad as an attack, right? Ken needed no further convincing as the rat sniffed at his foot.

"WAAAHHH!!~~~"

"Huh-?" Youji didn't even get the chance to react as Ken hurled himself upon Youji, screaming.

"Oh God! It's launching an attack!" In his frenzy, Ken promptly slipped over again, but this time, bringing Youji down with him. The look on Youji's face was one of total confusion and shock, as he hadn't exactly been warned that Ken was about to have a fit.

Ken's frenzied wails of armies of killer rats filled the night as Youji regained the sense of mind to once again, shut Ken up.

"SHHHHHH!!~~~" One of his hands went to halt Ken's twitching limbs and the other pushed down harder over the boy's mouth. "What the _FUCK_ are you doing?"

Ken could only gesture frantically with his eyes towards the offending vermin, which was still stood there with its head cocked to the side, grinning.

It blinked.

So did Youji.

He shifted his weight atop Ken so that he wasn't crushing him so badly any more, "What?" Youji was a little more than annoyed. He'd almost jimmied the lock enough to get it to open. At least, that was what he was going to tell Ken. The boy could only roll his eyes wildly, so Youji removed his hand, glaring at him to keep quiet.

"Tha-that..._RAT_.." Ken was still too panicked to form a coherent sentence. Obviously, the rat was far more evil than it looked.

Youji rolled his eyes and spoke to Ken in a voice that a mother humouring her child would. Laughter was bubbling up inside of him, "And what did the big bad rat do, Kenken?"

Ken's eyes went wide and his mouth formed a small 'o' as he realised there was no way to come up with an answer that wouldn't make him look like a total idiot.

Youji started to laughin earnest then, really, REALLY hard. He got off Ken and actually had to lean against a wall, his hands on his knees because he laughed so hard, almost falling over. 

"Hey!" Ken protested, somewhat warily. The rat was still there, watching and grinnig in all it's glory.

Youji continued to laugh.

"Shhhh! Be quiet!"

"I think it's a little late for that now, Kenken. If that didn't wake them up, nothing will." On shaky legs, Youji made his way over towards the rat, the perpetual smile still on it's face. "Hey there little fella. Shoo. Go on now, you're scaring Ken."

Ken had now calmed himself somewhat, and was sat in a heap, glaring at Youji.

The rat gave one last cheerful chirp, and scampered off. "See? Now that wasn't so hard, was it?"

"Shuddup."

"Aw, come on, Ke-OH GOOD GOD!! It's back!"

"Where?!" Ken's pulse was flying again, his eyes darted around frantically.

Youji scoffed and seized Ken's flailing arm, hauling him to his feet once more, "You really are a big baby, aren't you Ken?"

"Am not!" Ken glowered hotly at the back of the older boy's head as they made their way back over to the door, jiggling the knob. "It's not open." Ken stated.

At that comment, Youji slapped him over the back of the head "I can see that, moron!"

"Hey!" Ken protested, "This was _YOUR_ idea!"

"So you keep saying." muttered Youji.

Ken was incredulous, "Are you saying this is _MY_ fault?!"

"No. But I could point a couple of fingers if you'd like." Youji sneered.

Ken's heart stopped in his chest for the umpteenth time that night before he had the chance to reply. The two assassins could only wait in horror as, ever so slowly, the door opened...

TBC…..

Hey! I'd just like to thank aaaaallll the wonderful people who have reviewed so far. You inspire me to keep going. If I haven't thanked you personally, it's because I don't have your e-mail addresses…soooooo, here's your mega-double-chocolate-chip- thank-you. Bye-bye!  ^_^


	5. Sweetness...

Part five.

"Che, you guys make enough noise to wake the dead, you know that?" A sleepy, and not very pleased Omi closed the door behind the two older Weiss members. Youji snickered. Try as he might, there was just no way Omi could look pissed off in that cute hat.

Ken scratched his head sheepishly, "Ahh, sorry Omi. Youji and I were-"

"Yeah, what _WERE_ you guys doing out there? It's three in the morning! When Aya finds out about this-"

Youji was at Omi's side in an instant, "Aya's _NOT_ going to find out about this though, is he Omi? Hmmmm?"

"Well..."

"Aw, come on, Omi! It's bad enough that I get dragged out the house at two in the morning by this brainless wonder," Ken shot an annoyed glance at Youji, "but I get rained on too. What's more, I narrowly escape death by a _rat_, only to have Aya kill me tomorrow morning!"

"Don't be so dramatic, Ken-kun. Aya's not going to *kill* you..." Ken did _NOT_ like the doubt in Omi's voice.

"Maim me then?" he flopped himself down onto a chair, sulking. "I would have been safer with the rat."

"Don't worry, Kenken," Youji declared from the other side of the room. He was drying himself off with a towel and threw one at Ken's face, "I'll protect you from Aya."

"Thanks." Ken replied weakly.

"So, you guys still haven't answered me. Where did you go?"

"We, thanks to Youji, went for ice cream."

Omi looked confused, "Should I even ask?"

"Nah. Not unless you want to be up all night, chibi." Youji's head was still somewhere under the towel.

Omi scowled slightly at the nickname, "Yeah, whatever. I'm going back to bed now. G'night!"

"Promise you won't tell Aya?" Ken knew there was no use in keeping up the aloof facade now. He had been called a whiny baby too many times tonight.

Omi sighed, "....I didn't see you guys down here, okay?"

"Thanks, Omi. You're the best." At that, Omi turned and walked back up the stairs, the bobble on his hat bouncing behind him.

Ken sighed and got up, wrapping the towel around his shoulders, shivering slightly. He was glad that they'd made it back into the house...away from the rat. Yeah, that was definitely the most important part. He walked over to Youji, who was scooping the ice cream into two bowls.

"Here ya go, Ken."

They walked over to he couch, tired. It had been a long night. At least it hadn't been a total loss. Both assassins sat contentedly, nursing their bowls of ice cream. Youji looked at Ken, who looked sullen.

Youji sighed, feeling that it was his duty to make Ken feel better. After all, this mess was sort of his fault. Youji poked Ken, who was staring off into space.

Ken jerked away, "Hey!"

"I didn't know you were so ticklish, Kenken."

"You!...just keep your wandering hands to yourself, okay?"

"You sure about that?" Ken could only look warily at Youji in response. What did he have planned now? Youji must spend _all day_ thinking up new ways to torment and embarrass him, Ken thought. Youji had entirely too much time on his hands.

He shifted away from Youji on the sofa slightly, wrapping the towel around him once more. Hadn't Youji bothered him enough this evening? "I'm not _that_ ticklish." Ken muttered half-heartedly in his defence.

"Not very good for an assassin, you know." In response to him moving away, Youji had moved closer to resume his poking, blocking Ken into the corner of the sofa.

He batted Youji's hands away, "Tell me about it. Yo-hey! Would you stop that?! Jeeze!" Youji held his hands up in defence and ceased his tickling.

"You'd better be careful on missions Ken. With a weakness like that it wouldn't take all that long for the enemy to get all the information they wanted out of you." Youji stretched out, yawning and put his hands behind his head.

Ken scoffed, "Oh, like you're not ticklish?" Youji's stance made him appear quite vulnerable and suddenly, he had a death grip on Ken's arms, "Don't even think about it."

Ken gulped at the look in Youji's eyes and raised his eyebrows. Perhaps this information would come in handy later. "Sure. Whatever."

Youji swore he heard 'Touchy, touchy.' under Ken's breath, but he let it pass.

After a moment of silence, Youji tentatively began the conversation once again, "Ne, Ken?"

"Hmmm?" Ken's long fingers sifted through the mess that was now his hair. How come rain always made your hair all crusty? It was just the same as regular water, wasn't it?

"Never mind." Youji mumbled, seeing that Ken wasn't listening. It unnerved Ken, the way Youji had said it, it was a little too quiet and wistful for his liking.

He turned to his older team mate, "What is it?"

"I was just thinking," he lied "that this isn't really _my_ fault at all. It's Aya's."

Ken turned fully now, facing Youji, "What? How is this Aya's fault? If I remember correctly, it was *_you*_ who wanted ice cream."

"Yeah, but you have to see it from the other point of view, Ken. There's me, awake at two in the morning, with this amazingly bad craving."

"For ice cream?"

"Right. So I go down the stairs and open the fridge, only to find there isn't any. And why? Because it was *_Aya's_* turn to do the groceries this week and *_he_* didn't buy any. So you see, the whole reason we had to go and steal and get locked out, was Aya's fault." Youji settled back in his seat and put his hands back behind his head, satisfied with his explanation.

"Because he didn't buy any ice cream?" Ken considered this for a moment, mulling over it. Youji did have a point. How many times had he himself had to go out to get stuff. Was it *_his_* fault Aya didn't like pizza? No. "I will admit," he began slowly "that you have a point. But I'm thinking that it might have something do to with a little something called 'brain freeze'."

"Works for me. You know, it was a good night."

Ken laughed very softly. "Yeah. It was."

The two friends looked across each other, the air seeming to crackle with feeling. Ken shifted slightly, feeling uncomfortable under Youji's heady gaze and he felt himself fill with an unidentifiable emotion.

"Youji?" he questioned hesitantly.

Youji rose faster than Ken had ever seen him. Fuck! He had to get out of there before he managed to do something stupid. But that's the story of your life, right Kodou? He inclined his head towards Ken slightly, making his apologies for leaving,

"I, uh, have to go Ken. I just remembered a....prior obligation. Good night." and with a flash of his trademark smile, he was gone back out the back door.

Ken slouched down, wishing that the soft sofa cushions would suck him in and put him out of his misery. The soft pout that his mouth had curved into showed that he was annoyed at Youji. Annoyed because for once, they'd been having a good time. For once, they were just two friends eating ice cream late at night. Friends. The thought hurt Ken to think it, and it was this thought that made him realise that the tightening in his chest hadn't been from eating his ice cream too fast...

Oh, man that was crappy. Well, review anyway my dears.

Oh, oh! Also, here's my biggest [and only ever] author's note. Woo! First of all, I just want to say thank you again for all the reviews! You guys are the best! But seriously, you keep me going *sniff*

I don't mean to get all sentimental with you, but I'm afraid that I may have to put 'What Are Friends For?' on a slow stew in my cooking pot [brain?] for a while, due to a lot of factors. I won't bore you with ALL the ins and outs, but I want to be able to say I defended myself later when you all come to murder me...

First of all, I still have exams for the next two weeks, and the work is just getting me down. As in, I'm not doing enough, so I need to concentrate on that for a while much to my chagrin. Then I'm going away with a couple of friends for a while and I'll be back, so don't worry. Hopefully I'll be able to write most of my fic while I'm away so that I just have to type it up when I get back. Yay.

And then I'll be in the hospital for some tests. It's a long story, but at first they thought I had appendicitis, but when they did the ultrasound scan, they found out that it was my ovaries, or more specifically my right ovary. To cut a long story short I may end up having to have one or both of them removed, so I won't be back until July 2nd. I'm really, REALLY sorry. I have a break in a couple of days time, and I may have more fic up for you then, but I wouldn't hold your breath.

Phew.

So, wish me luck. And don't worry. In the famous words of that guy, 'I'll be back.'...

Oh! I almost forgot. REVIEW!!!


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